


Beauty and The Snake

by PrincesaAlisakura



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Discrimination, F/M, Falling In Love, Forced Bonding, Forgetting who we are, Hiking, Hiking Porn, IguanaYuri, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Romance, Interspecies Sex, M/M, Mages, Magical World, Mating Rituals, Naga, Nagaverse, Nightmares, Poachers, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Presumed Dead, Protective yurio, Racism, Rating May Change, Revenge, Shapeshifting, SnakeVictor, Technology, Victor hates humans, Victor is love, Yuri is Yuuri's lizard son, Yuuri is a lizard lover, alone in the woods, herpetologist Yuuri Katsuki, herpetology, humans are evil, magic is dying, revival, technology over magic, yurio is an orphan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9318167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincesaAlisakura/pseuds/PrincesaAlisakura
Summary: Back then, magic was the way of life. Everyone used it and everyone lived in harmony with the magical creatures.  Everything was perfect, a perfect paradise for all.But as the years gone by, technology advanced and people started to forget about magic. And the number of humans grew, so did their fear of magical creatures.Yuuri Katsuki aspires to be a famous herpetologist. He did the research and even had an iguana he loved like his own child. But this iguana is special, very special. To the point where Yuuri will be thrown in a world of fantasy and conspiracy. Oh and he has to shake off the advances of a certain silver snake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The result of reading too much naga fanfiction and a bad case of the airplane cold!!!! it depends how this will take off once its published because im dedicated to my other YOI fanfic.  
> Any way... ENJOY!!!!
> 
> I DONT OWN YOI!!!!

Ever since he was a boy, Yuuri Katsuki had always wanted to be a herpetologist. He was fascinated with reptiles that stemmed from collecting little lizards from his backyard during the spring and keeping them for a couple of days so he can draw them and study them.

At eight years, old he begged for an iguana as a pet for his birthday. He was given a green iguana that was still young, a year old to be exact. He playfully named it after himself but with an ‘o’ at eh end, it was met with mixed results.

Yurio the iguana had a temper, he would glare at the boy whenever it was feeding time and would always slap Yuuri with his tail every chance he got. But after a year, he grew fond of his caretaker and would often spend almost all day sitting on Yuuri’s shoulder whenever he didn’t have school. He also acted as a model for Yuuri’s sketches and would spend his time admiring the finished results.

Yurio was also very protective of Yuuri. He once bit a bully who tried to push him around, Yuuri was thankful for the iguanas acting when the mother of said bully tried to take his friend away. All Yurio had to do was act like a docile lizard to convince everyone he was not a ‘dangerous monster’.

At eighteen, Yuuri decided to volunteer at his town local zoo where they recently opened a reptile rehabilitation center. They took in animals who were neglected by their owners or helped reptiles who were on the verge of extinction by rebuilding their species before releasing them back to their natural habitat.

All he had to do was clean their cages and make sure that they had plenty of food and water. The days were long and he wasn’t paid but it was rewarding to him because he was surrounded by the reptiles he lived as a boy. He tried not to get too attached because he knew that his volunteer work was only temporary and for some reason Yurio always got jealous if he smelled another reptile on Yuuri, he was such a little kid but made him smile.

But during the first year he ended up befriending some of the animals and loved them despite their sliminess and scales to the point of giving them names before they would leave to be released back into the wild.

His favorite was small beautiful silver snake with the most breathtaking blues eyes he had ever seen. No one knew what type of snake he was, he didn’t have venom in his system so he was safe to handle and when they first brought him in they thought his eye color meant it was time for him to shed his skin. But that never happened, he would only slither around the glass case he was in out of boredom. From what Yuuri knew the snake was brought in after being found injured at a park not far from the zoo, the poor thing looked like he was attacked by a wild animal judging from the massive injuries on the silver scales. But by some miracle he was still alive but was miserable during his time recuperating, he would coil up in the corner of his little glass cage. Never interacting with anyone who would bring him so the cage could be cleaned and wouldn’t even move when he was presented to the children at the zoo.

Yuuri felt sorry for the silver snake so one day he decided to play some music for the reptile during feeding time. It was an aria called Stay Close to Me and it worked wonders with many of the reptiles because of the soft vibrations of the tenor.

When it was over the snake uncoiled, and wrapped himself around Yuuri’s wrist, almost nuzzling against him with his head. It surprised the man but it made him smile to see that the once sad snake was happy.

Sadly, the snake was only there for six months before it was time for him to be released. The silver snake looked sad as he was lifted out of his cage and placed in a carboard box.

“Don’t be sad,” Yuuri said to it softly, “You’re going home and that’s the best thing in the world to happen.”

The snake looked at him with his mysterious blue eyes and stuck his fork tongue out. Yuuri gave a gentle pat on the snake’s head.

“I think your parting name will be…. Victor.”

The snake, now called Victor, wrapped around Yuuri’s hand one last time before sinking into the box to be transported.

“Goodbye victor, who knows we might see each other again,” Yuuri gave a soft chuckle as the box was picked up and placed in a car.

He waved as the vehicle drove off before going back to work.

Yuuri spent a good five years at the zoo, the volunteering gave him credit for school and it helped him graduate early.

Today was his last day at the exhibit, he was preparing to move from his family home in Tokyo to go live in a house his mother inherited in Hasetsu. He already made the arrangement and needed to go home to prepare Yurio’s habitat for the long journey since they were leaving that day. He knew his little friend was going to love it, the house was located near a forest and he knew that Yurio might want to feel grass and climb some of the trees.

“Hey Yuuri!” A voice boomed in the reptile room.

The now twenty-three year old didn’t jump or flinch since was long used to his boss Takeshi’s booming voice.

“Heard you’re leaving us!” The man wrapped in arm around the smaller man shoulders casually, “Is that true?”

He gave Yuuri a shake, his glasses almost fell off his face.

“Y-Y-Y-Yea!” Yuuri could muster out before slipping out of the grasp.

“I finished school early and decided to move,” He fixed his glasses and picked up the rest of his supplies, “The house is near the forest so I thought I start my research there.”

Takeshi laughed loudly and the reptiles jolted from the vibrations.

“Going into the field already? Alright, how about we get some drink to celebrate?”

Yuuri smiled but politely declined, “I have to get Yurio’s habitat ready for the move. Besides, he hates it when he smells alcohol around me.”

That statement made his coworker raise an eyebrow, “You talk about that lizard of yours as if it were your son or something.”

“Really?” The younger man chuckled and scratched his cheek, “I’ve had him since forever so maybe he is like my kid.”

Takeshi looked at him and shook his head, “You’ve been around reptiles long enough you seriously need a girlfriend.”

Yuuri blushed and continued to pack his supplies.

* * *

 

“Yurio? I’m back!” Yuuri announced as he dropped his backpack near his bed that was stripped of the bed sheets and comforter.

Sitting inside the screen cage was a medium sized iguana glaring at him in greeting. For some reason, Yurio was yellow despite being a green iguana. Yuuri took him to every single specialist he could think but they could figure out why he was this color. But that didn’t stop him from loving and caring for his friend.

Yuuri walked to the large case and opened the door and stuck his arm in. Yurio slowly walked up the arm before resting on Yuuri’s shoulder.

“Sorry I was gone longer than usual. Were you lonely?”

The iguana responded by leaning against the man’s cheek before pulling away.

“Well don’t worry, I’ll be around more often now with this move,” He said softly, he gave Yurio a piece of banana before preparing to move the habitat.

* * *

 

The movers came and took the stuff that was packed in boxes and made sure the habitat was secured before moving them in the van.

Yuuri said goodbye to his parents and sister before going to the car his parents gave him. Yurio was secured his little carrier with enough food and water to last him the trip although it was clear he wanted to stay on his owner’s shoulder.

“alright,” Yuuri fastened his seatbelt and gave one more wave goodbye to his family before starting the car, “Ready Yurio?”

He was given a glare but he still smiled.

“Lets go.”

And with that, he started the car and drove off, the moving van not far behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well.... I was surprised at the response of this :)  
> I'm glad you guys are enjoying this even though its not my best....  
> Well here it is the second chapter!!!!

“Yurio? We’re here,” Yuuri said to the carrier gently.

The car pulled into the rocky drive way of the old fashioned Japanese house and the young scientist turned off the car.

He unzipped the black bag and was meet with the glaring green eyes of the iguana. Yurio looked like he just woke up and the lizard was always grumpy when he was woken up.

Yuuri chuckled, “Sorry boy, I’ll leave you be.”

Just as he was about to rezipped the bag, Yurio slapped the hand with his tail and climbed out of the bag and ventured his way to his rightful spot on Yuuri’s shoulder.

“I forgot you hate that thing,” the man gently leaned his cheek on the iguana affectionally.

Yurio returned the favor by leaning against his master’s cheek before pulling away.

With his iguana, happy for the attention, Yuuri got out of the car and greeted the movers who followed him all the way to the house.

One of the movers were trembling at the sight of the yellow iguana glaring at him, as if he was sizing up the man and daring to try something towards Yuuri.

“So… Um you want us to take the boxes in?” The man with the receding hairline asked.

“You can just leave them in the hallway.”

The moving man nodded and he and his coworker did just that after the doors were unlocked. Yuuri took care of handling Yurio’s habitat out of the van.

After an hour, the boxes were in and the movers left after being paid leaving Yuuri and Yurio alone to unpack and settle in. he walked in the house breathed in the smell of wood and varnish. It was a three room house with one toilet and bathroom. The main room was large with wooden floors and a glass sliding door. It had a small kitchen with a gas stove with a sink and a refrigerator.

“Well, what do you think Yurio?”

Yurio looked around and sneered.

“Not interested huh?” Yuuri chuckled and walked around the spacious room. The only possessions he had moved were the ones on his room.

“Maybe I’ll use this space for the bed room and the bedroom for my research. It’s great for you too Yurio. All the space so you won’t be in your habitat all day.”

The iguana just sat there on Yuuri’s shoulder, blinking and looking around. He then focused his attention outside towards the glass doors and hissed, startling his master.

“Yurio!?”

The iguana leapt off the man’s shoulders.

“H-hey what’s the matter?”

Yurio continued to hiss towards the door and tried to claw his way out before he was picked up. He resisted and tried to break free from Yuuri’s hands without biting him.

“Is there something out there?” Yuuri asked calmly, “I’ll check.”

That only made the iguana more agitated to the point of smacking Yuuri with his tail.

“What’s wrong?”

Yurio continued to hiss until Yuuri had enough and put the iguana in his habitat.

“Maybe it’s the move, why don’t you stay in there and relax or…,” Yuuri went to a box that Yurio’s name on and pulled out a t-shirt and sweat pants, “You help me unpack and I’ll make some pirozhki. What do you want?”

The iguana glared at him before climbing out of his habitat. He walked to the middle of the floor and began to transform. His lizard body stretched until it resembled a human body, his head changed into that of a human boy nearing manhood and he had blonde hair. The only things left behind to prove that he truly was were the yellow patches of scales that appeared in random parts of his naked body, his hands were completely covered in yellow scale with claw like fingernails and a large iguana tail just above his buttocks.

Yuuri gave the lizard boy the clothes and turned around to give him privacy.

“I’m only doing this for the pirozhki!” Said Yurio with a gravelly voice before he coughed a few times, “Damn, my throat hurts!”

“Well it’s been three years,” Yuuri commented as he moved his small dresser near the corner of the room.

It was a secret between the two that Yurio was a very special iguana. He could turn from a lizard with glaring green eyes into a boy with pale blonde hair, glaring green eyes and with a love for cats. Yuuri discovered this when he was fifteen and eating a pork cutlet bowl, Yurio wanted a bite but when Yuuri wouldn’t give it, the iguana transformed into a boy and opened his mouth. After a scream or two, Yuuri discovered his pet’s secret and promised go never tell anyone. Ever since then Yurio would transform whenever they were alone, they would usually play video games or watch TV.

Three years ago, Yurio chose to stop transforming when Yuuri’s sister kept coming in at random times and it was a hassle to constantly transform already so decided to stay in his iguana form. Yuuri understood and just continued his daily life.

He hoped that this move would let Yurio walk around more in his human form.

Yurio finished putting on the clothing he was given and stretched his long legs a bit before standing up and walking towards the boxes. He chose to pick up the lighter boxes for precautionary measures because he didn’t want to break anything. If he did, he would lose the chance of eating his favorite food again after three long years.

“Just open them, I’ll put everything away and things up,” Yuuri said, “I’ll plug in the laptop for you to watch a movie later.”

Yurio blushed a bit and mumbled, “Thanks…”

He did as he was told, he used his nails to cut the tape to open the boxes.

“Since you can talk now, why were you acting up just now?”

Yurio gulped when he felt the parental stare of Yuuri at his back.

“….. I thought I saw rat! You know I hate rats!”

“Yurio…. You better be lying to me,” Yuuri said sternly.

“I’m not!” The boy finished cutting open the boxes and transformed back into an iguana to signify that he won’t talk to him for a while.

The man rolled his eye but he still kneeled and gave his arm for Yurio to climb on before cradling him in his arms.

“Turning back into an iguana won’t help you this time young man,” He said calmly, “I will demand an explanation later.”

Yurio glared at him before he was put back in his habitat.

“You’re lucky we just moved in here, otherwise we wouldn’t be having pirozhki for lunch later.”

He left the door open in hopes that Yurio might want to come out later. Yurio did eventually and walked out still in his form and looked out the sliding glass door.

He glared out into the forest and locked eyes with a pair of ice blue eyes.

_‘I know you can hear my thoughts, stay away from pork cutlet bowl!’_

He heard a deep chuckle within his thoughts, a heavily accented voice echoed in deep vibrations.

_‘Is that any way to talk to me? Your king?’_

_‘You’re no king of mine! I’m warning you! You have to go through me to get to him!’_

He heard the voice chuckle again before he disappeared into the woods.

Yurio continued to glare at the woods before he heard Yuuri’s voice again.

“I’m going to the store Yurio, if you want to come with me you the drill.”

The iguana turned around and walked into the messenger bag Yuuri used whoever he wanted to bring his friend with him to outings.

“We’re only getting ingredient for lunch and dinner so no begging for snacks alright?”

He received a small hiss from the bag.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .............................. This was not my best chapter, I fully intended to wait until chapter three or four but I felt that it was lagging a bit so here it is!!! Yurio will be a little ooc for certain purposes but hes still out cute little punk ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya!!!!!  
> Well this came out quicker than I thought.   
> My attempt at trying to build it up until the big climax!!!

“No Yurio,” Yuuri whispered to the worn out brown messenger bag, “I said no snacks!”

He felt the bag shake in protest and he didn’t need to have the iguana transform to know what he was saying.

“I know it’s been three years but we have a budget right now!” He continued to whisper even though he knew people were staring at him weirdly for talking to his bag.

Yurio was tempted to popped out of the bag and protest in his human form but he knew better. All he could do was curl up in the bag and mope. It’s not fair he thought to himself, Yurio was in his true form for three years and he desperately missed the snacks he and Yuuri used to share together. What’s the point of moving to your own space if you’re not allowed to eat whatever you wanted?! This was reptile abuse! Abuse damnit!

But he calmed down and just peered thought the slit of the bag and watched as Yuuri put in about two weeks’ worth of food in the cart. Food for survival but no snacks!

Yuuri sighed when he didn’t feel Yurio move anymore, he knew the iguana was throwing a tantrum for being denied his snacks.

“Sorry boy,” He gently patted the bag, “but I can’t keep spoiling you.”

If Yurio was in his human form, he would be cursing at his caretaker for treating him like child. And demanding the snacks he coveted so much.

“That will be five thousand yen,” the elderly cashier said after totaling the amount of groceries.

Yuuri stuck his hand in his bag and grabbed his wallet, only for Yurio to tug on it in protest over the snacks.

“umm!”

Yuuri pulled harder but Yurio tugged back.

“Excuse me,” The man said with a smile while the cashier tilted her head.

With one swift and strong pull, he was able to get his leather wallet from the iguana and pulled out the amount of money he owed.

“Sorry about that, my wallet got caught on something,” Yuuri chuckled nervously as he gave the money.

The woman just smiled and gave him the change.

“Thank you.”

“Please come in again!” The lady said nicely as Yuuri grabbed his bag groceries and ran to his car.

After putting the groceries in the backseat and getting into the driver’s seat, Yuuri opened the bag and glared at Yurio.

“What the hell?!”

Yurio glared back before turning away.

The man rolled his eyes and set the bag on the passenger’s side, he put the key in the ignition to start the car before driving away.

“I told you before we left, no snacks and you pull a stunt like that?”

Yuuri drove away from the town and drove the lonely road to home. Yurio used this as a chance to shift into his human form, he used the bag to cover his lap.

“You said we have a budget and you bought food to last us two weeks! But you couldn’t get any snacks?!”

“Don’t yell,” He said calmly, “And put your seatbelt on.”

Yurio snarled, hissed through his sharp teeth before putting the restraint on.

The rest of the drive was silent.

Yuuri pulled in the rocky drive way and unbuckled his seat belt.

“Wait in here and I’ll get your clothes.”

Yurio grunted and crossed his arms, still mad about the snacks.

After a few minutes, the man came back with a pair of boxers, sweatpants and a sweater with a tiger print on the sleeves. He went to the open window and gave them the clothes.

“Put them on and help me with the groceries.”

The lizard boy was silent but he grabbed the clothes and threw them on before getting out of the car. He didn’t have shoes because he hated them for being too constricting. He was okay with the clothes but not with shoes.

Yurio grabbed the larger bags and stomped his way back into the house, inside he put the bags near the stove because they didn’t have a table yet. Yuuri’s mother was sending him a small coffee table and a small dining table that was due to come next week so the floor was their friend for a while.

Yuuri came in with the remaining groceries and used his head to motion Yurio to go to his habitat. The boy obeyed and turned back into an iguana as he made his way towards his room. He watched as the man put the food away and felt a ping of guilt for the way he acted at the grocery store.

It was true that it had been three years since he last interacted with Yuuri in hi human form and he felt like he spoiled it by acting up. All because of snacks he could get later once they were fully settled in. Yurio felt awful and moped in his habitat for nearly two hours, he ignored the sound of the stove’s oven turning on and the sounds of Yuuri’s humming as he made lunch.

* * *

 

“Okay Yurio you’ve been moping in there long enough,” Yuuri held up the freshly baked pirozhki near the iguana who was sitting in the corner, “I’m not mad at you, can’t we talk?”

Yurio looked over and walked out of his habitat and crawled under a pile of his clothes. The pile moved until the boy sat up wearing only a large black hoodie that went down to his knees. He didn’t have is usual glare on his face.

“I’m not mad Yurio,” Yuuri said in a soothing voice, “can you at least tell me why you were acting up?”

He gave the boy the pirozhki which was gladly acted.

Yurio nibbled on it before putti9ng it on his lap and looking away.

“I…. wanted it to be like the old days….”

The scientist raised an eyebrow and sat next to the boy, “The old days?”

He received a nod in return.

“We used to eat snacks and play video games before your sister got nosy.”

“I see.”

Yuuri wrapped an arm around the small boy and rubbed his shoulder soothingly, “I knew you missed me.”

Yurio blushed and ate his lunch.

* * *

 

By the time it was nearing dinner Yuuri had already unpacked his and Yurio’s clothing and put them in the dresser and his research tools were in the room that would have been his bedroom. The futon he got from his mom as rolled in the middle of the floor facing the TV he got from his professor Minako.

“When do we get cable?” Yurio asked as he bathed the pork slice in the egg wash.

Yuuri checked the temperature of the oil before he instructed the boy to cover the egg soaked pork with flour.

“I think in two weeks. By then I’ll get the grant from the society.”

“isn’t that the place you sent those drawings and notes about me?”

“Yup. The research of my yellow iguana,” Yuuri chuckled as he ruffled the boy’s hair.

A rare chuckle escaped Yurio’s throat and he flicked some flour at Yuuri’s face.

“Alright let’s just get dinner done,” Yuuri took off his glasses and wiped the flour off the lenses.

The pork cutlet bowl wasn’t like the one his mother made, it lacked the peas and onions but it was the closet version to it.

“It’s a good thing the has a DVD player built in,” Yuuri mumbled to himself as he finally found the button to open the slot, “Hey Yurio, what do you want to watch?”

Yurio set the food on one of the boxes being used as a makeshift table and plopped down on the futon.

“The Killing Joke.”

“Okay.”

The man put the movie in and sat next the boy who was wolfing down his meal.

“I’m still curios about you.”

“Hm?”

“Iguanas are mainly herbivores and yet you’re eating meat.”

Yurio put his fork down and ate the bits of rice that stuck on his skin, “When I turn into a human, I can eat various foods that’s not in the diet of an iguana. Its only when I’m back in my true form I eat a herbivore diet.”

‘Amazing.’

“is that all? The movies about to start.”

“Yea, that’s all.”

Yuuri had more questions about his iguana actually. How is it that Yurio could shape shift? Were there more like him? If so, how come there are no reports of this amazing discovery? Was Yurio the only one of his kind to turn into a human?

He observed the iguana a little more before focusing his attention towards the movie.

* * *

 

After the movie and dinner, Yuuri did the dishes and turned in for the night. Yurio shifted back into his iguana form and curled up on a pillow that was next to Yuuri’s head. He was jolted awake when he felt the vibrations of a chuckle.

‘Keeping guard of your human?’

Yurio looked and glared at the figure that appeared on the other side of the sliding glass door.

_‘What the hell do you think?!’_

_‘I thought you hated humansss after what they did to your grandfather and loversss.’_

_‘I do… but pork cutlet bowl is different!’_

The figure smirked playfully.

_‘I see, he’s really gotten my interest now.’_

_‘Don’t you dare! Go away_!’

Yurio let out a hiss which caused the human man to stir, the figure retreated and Yuuri got up see Yurio glaring at the door.

“That’s it,” His voice was heavy with sleep, “I’m buying curtains tomorrow.”

With that he fell asleep again.

Yurio couldn’t agree more before falling asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!!!  
> and I added a little reference to my other YOI story!! Did you see it?  
> Well now im off to make a serious chapter!!!!  
> BYE BYE!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we arw after..... a long time :P  
> Aw well. I trying my best wit this story but it pretty hard at the moment.... mainly because I got hooked on Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir!!!!  
> Anyway enjoy!!

The bright sun woke him up and blinded him as he opened his eyes, Yuuri got up from his dreamless sleep and stretched, little pops were heard from his spine. He looked over at his left and saw that Yurio was still sound asleep. That and he accidently turned human in his sleep.

A nasty little habit the boy had if he didn’t sleep in his habitat, Yurio would turn human when he would sleep in his master’s bed. He said it was because his body knew that he wasn’t confined. Nevertheless, it almost got him caught several times by Yuuri’s mother. She still swears to this day that she thought she saw a naked boy in her son’s bed.

“Yurio wake up,” The man yawned gently shaking the boy’s shoulders, “It’s morning.”

A hiss escaped from Yurio’s teeth and he sank deeper into the covers. He wanted to sleep in since there was nothing to do in the middle of nowhere and he was not planning on going outside to the woods anytime soon.

Yuuri chuckled and tucked his iguana in, “Alright boy, you can sleep in. But I need your help with the house.”

He watched as Yurio’s face relaxed in deep slumber, if you took away the patches of scales, the claw like hands and the tail, he would have been an ordinary teenage boy sleeping in.

Yuuri got out of the futon and went to his dresser for a change of clothes and have a quick breakfast.

After he ate, he wondered what he could do, no cable meant no TV and he didn’t want to wake up his iguana.

_‘I wonder…’_

After finishing his instant coffee, Yuuri went to his dresser again to grab a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of long jeans and high boots.

A trip to the forest will be a good way to pass the time until Yurio wakes up. He walked to his research room and changed into the outfit, he tucked in the jeans in the boot to prevent any insects or critters from crawling in. Yuuri walked over to his desk and grabbed his camera, a pen and a notepad.

He walked out and tip toed to the sliding glass door.

_‘I’ll only be gone for little while so I won’t leave a note.’_

Yuuri closed the door and did some stretches to help his body get used to the thick boots.

When he was done, he ventured to the forest. Whistling his favorite song, Eros, along the way.

Yurio groaned when he finally woke up, his body was telling him to wake up and enjoy the day while his heart and brain told him to stay in the warmth of the futon. He stretched out his arm but didn’t feel a warm body next to him. It dawned on him a second later that his master woke up earlier and let him sleep in.

He got up and stretched. The blanket pooled around his small hip.

“Hey pork cutlet bowl,” Yurio called out, yawning after wards, “What’s for breakfast?”

His answer was nothing, pure silence.

“Pork cutlet bowl?”

Yurio rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked around the room for his master.

“Is he taking a piss?” He asked himself as he got up and threw on his long black sweater that he discarded on the floor the night before.

Walking to the bathroom door, he knocked.

“Oi, are you in there?”

Nothing. Yuuri would always answer if Yurio knocked.

Something was up and he did not like it.

“Where did he go?” Yurio growled to himself, he looked out the window and noticed that the car was still there.

Agitated, he stuck his tongue out. Since he couldn’t find Yuuri the human way, he was going to find him the iguana way. Yurio walked around the house, sticking his tongue in and out of his mouth to pick up the scent. He stopped when the scent started at the sliding glass door.

“….. Shit!”

* * *

 

“Fascinating,” Yuuri focused his lenses on a red Japanese striped snake that was perched on a small rock.

The 50 in snake looked at the man with great curiosity but did not move. Yuuri made sure to keep a good distance away from the snake so he wouldn’t frighten it away.

“Hold still girl,” He guessed the gender of the animal, it was red scales that gave him the impression that it was female. That and the strange blue eyes it had, they reminded him of the grey snake from the zoo.

Yuuri clicked the button on his camera and smiled when the picture came through.

“Perfect!” He exclaimed to himself, he then bowed to the snake politely, “Thank you for letting me take your picture snake-chan.”

The snake stuck its tongue out several times, Yuuri saw that it was tilting its head before it slithered off the rock and disappearing into the trees.

With a smile, Yuuri took out his notebook to write down about the strange snake.

_‘The young snake appears to be almost out of the juvenile stage and apparently, it likes to pose for the camera.’_

Thinking about the posing made him wonder though. Since Yurio could shapeshift into a human, did that mean that other animals could do that? But then he remembered what the iguana told him when he asked the first time the meet in Yurio’s human form.

The boy was part of a mythical clan of reptiles who could turn human at will. In ancient times, they were worshipped as gods by the human for they offered protection from their enemies. Sadly, as the numbers of humans grew so did their fear and hatred for the shapeshifters.

They were hunted down mercilessly until they retreated amongst the reptiles who matched their class. They continued to thrive in secret and gave birth to new generations but even then, they were still hunted but not because of what they were but for what they had.

That was happens to Yurio and his family. His parents were discovered when he was just an egg and were killed for their skin. His grandfather raised him until he was captured as well and Yurio was sold to a pet store. That was how he was bought by Yuuri’s parents and given to the boy as a present.

Yurio has said numerous times that he hated humans but he didn’t hate Yuuri. In his own way, of course.

_‘I should be heading back, he’s probably awake right now.’_

Turning around, Yuuri stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a snake in front of him just a few feet away. It was no ordinary snake.

_‘A king cobra!? What is doing here in Japan?!’_

The cobra hissed menacingly as it stood up, its hood extended and slowly slithered towards the man. Yuuri knew that he had to stand perfectly still, one wrong move and it was game over.

‘I had to leave my snake hook back at the house,’ he yelled in his head.

The cobra was now a foot away from him when it opened its mouth, Yuuri could almost see the venom dripping from its fangs.

_‘No!’_

A loud menacing hiss blew through the trees with great force that even the largest of trees shook. The cobra stopped its killing intent and cowered away while in a panicked state, Yuuri took a few steps back and tripped over a large tree root. He fell backing tumbled to a small riverbank, hitting his head on the ground.

All he remembered was hearing Yurio’s voice calling after him before his vision faded.

* * *

 

_“Let me go you bastard! You can’t have him!”_

_“Such a nasty little temper Yurachka, I’m surprised your human still keeps you.”_

_“My name is Yurio!”_

Yuuri groaned as he slowly regained his consciousness. The voices were getting cleaerer with each passing second.

When his vision returned, he saw that he was in cave with a slimy substance on his forehead.

“I just put fresh aloe on your cut. You’ll be okay.”

“Huh?!”

The man turned his head towards the sound of the male voice, he saw a handsome man with long silver hair and bright blue eyes. He was shirtless but that did not phase Yuuri.

Because from the waist down was a long and silver tail.

The tail that was coiled around him.

And the very tail that was holding Yurio’s hands above his head.

“Y-Yurio!?”

The iguana kicked with blind furry in a desperate attempt to free himself and his master from the strange snake.

“Wow!” The man said with great enthusiasm, “I never knew that Yurachka would fight this hard for a human.”

Yuuri focused his attention to the snake man.

“W-W-Who are you?” He asked, his emotions betraying him.

The man stopped smiling and he looked heartbroken as he slithered to the bound human. He wrapped his pale arms around him.

“You don’t remember me?” He asked softly, his fork tongue playfully hissed out of his mouth, the pupls of his eyes turning into slits “And you said that we would meet again.”

Yuuri blushed when the man cupped his face and pulled him closer.

“No!” Yurio cried out, his screams were silenced when the tail wrapped around his mouth.

But it was too late, the naga forced his lips on the human man.

Yuuri froze, his eyes widened, and his heart was racing. He tried to move his arms to push the snake away but his entire body was paralyzed. He moaned as the reptile’s tongue forced it way in his mouth before pulling away.

His breathe came out as small pants and he sank deeper into the coils.

“Who… are you…” He was able to ask.

The silver haired man smirked, “I am the last king of the reptiles but you may know me as… Victor.”

Hearing that name made Yuuri’s jaw slack, “What?”

“And I am also your mate for life.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victor made his entrance!!!!  
> I would like to thank fellow fanfciton author nauti for giving me really awesome advice for herpetology!!  
> Thank you!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait everyone but here is something for your patience  
> ^^

Yurio knew that his master would go into the forest sooner or later but he didn’t know it would be so soon. Using his tongue, he followed Yuuri’s scent and found just as he tripped and fell.

It was also when he picked up the scent of roses and lavender.

He was knocked out before he even had time to react.

When Yurio woke up, he was in a cave stripped of his black sweater and held by his wrists off the ground.

“You grew Yurachka,” commented the heavily accented voice he knew all too well.

With a growl, he looked up at the figure in front of him.

‘’I have nothing to say to you!” Yurio hissed, his tail wrapping itself around his hips in an attempt to cover himself.

This amused the man snake as he chuckled, “You have been with that human for so long that you are acting like one.”

The man flicked the yellow tail with a silver scaled hand, earning a kick from the boy in retaliation.

But as always, it did not phase the silver snake.

“What do you want with him anyway?!” Yurio growled as he struggled to free himself from the tail he now knew was holding his wrists, “You hate humans! Why do you want him?!”

The man smirked before smiling carefree, “I’m getting old unfortunately. It’s time I settle down and find a mate. That’s all.”

Yurio’s green eyes grew dark in color, “Pick a snake then! Yuuri is a human!”

“That’s true but he… fascinates me.”

“Where is he?!”

The man pointed to a corner of the cave where the rest of the man’s silver tail was resting in a coil. Inside the coil was Yurio’s unconscious caretaker and he fought even harder.

“Let me go you bastard! You can’t have him!”

“Such a nasty little temper Yurachka, I’m surprised your human still keeps you,” Said the man with a chuckle.

“My name is Yurio!”

His scream roused Yuuri from his unconscious state, Yurio watched as the man opened his eyes and looked around in confusion before touching his head.

“I just put fresh aloe on your cut. You’ll be okay.”

“Huh?! Y-Yurio!?”

Yurio began to kick harder to free himself.

 

“Wow! I never knew that Yurachka would fight this hard for a human.”

Yuuri focused his attention to the snake man.

“W-W-Who are you?” He asked, his emotions betraying him.

The man stopped smiling and he looked heartbroken as he slithered to the bound human. He wrapped his pale arms around him.

“You don’t remember me?” He asked softly, his fork tongue playfully hissed out of his mouth, the pupils of his eyes turning into slits “And you said that we would meet again.”

Yuuri blushed when the man cupped his face and pulled him closer.

“No!” Yurio cried out, his screams were silenced when the tail wrapped around his mouth.

But it was too late, the naga forced his lips on the human man.

Yuuri froze, his eyes widened, and his heart was racing. He tried to move his arms to push the snake away but his entire body was paralyzed. He moaned as the reptile’s tongue forced it way in his mouth before pulling away.

His breathe came out as small pants and he sank deeper into the coils.

“Who… are you…” He was able to ask.

The silver haired man smirked, “I am the last king of the reptiles but you may know me as… Victor.”

Hearing that name made Yuuri’s jaw slack, “What?”

“And I am also your mate for life.”

Mate for life?! Yuuri gulped as Victor smirked seductively.

“Are you so happy that you can’t speak? I’m flattered,” He said, licking his lips with his forked tongue.

Yurio’s muffled screams in protest were ignored as Victor cupped the side of Yuuri’s face with his scaled hand. The human man blushed as the hand traveled to his neck, he wanted to push it away but he was still frozen by the ice blue eyes.

“Shall we get started then?”

“Huh?”

Victor wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist, “You know what I mean. Shall we consummate our~ ARRGGHH!”

Yurio’s razor sharp teeth dug into the silver tail making Victor retract it back, freeing the boy. The bite made the man look away from Yuuri, breaking him free from his trance.

“You little-”

“Run Yuuri!”

Yuuri was now full of adrenaline and his survival instinct kicked, he scrambled out of the coil and almost over the tail to get away. Yurio grabbed his hand and together they bolted out of the cave.

Victor pouted as they left and held his injured tail, “That boy has always been a violent one. How did his grandfather control him?”

“My king,” A young female voice entered the cave when the silver snake put some salve on his wound.

A red snake with blue eyes slithered into the cave, it was the very snake Yuuri was taking a picture of ealrier. The snake bowed her head to the king and waited to be spoken too.

“I want you to watch over him for me Mila,” Victor said with a smile, “Report to me every night. That is my order to you.”

Mila looked up and and transformed, she now had the torso of a beautiful woman with red scales covering her naked breasts and claw like hands, she had short and wavy auburn hair and her eyes were still the same blue color but her pupils were still the same.

She bowed before Victor, “Yes my king.”

Victor then became serious, “Any word on the cobra?”

“Unfortunately, we cannot seem to locate him” Mila said with her head still bowed, “Your mother and father believe he retreated to the other side of the forest.”

“Hm,” he was not pleased, “Tell the others to keep an eye out for him. I want him to be found dead or alive. I prefer alive so I can personally send him to his human lover in the afterlife.”

Mila bowed once more “Yes, my king.”

X

Yuuri and Yurio ran as fast as they could no longer feel their legs but they kept running. The iguana boy’s grip on his master’s hand was a tight grip but neither of them cared. All that mattered was that they had to get back to house.

After for what seemed an eternity, they made it out of the forest and the house was within their sight.

Yurio made a rare relived smile when he saw it and fainted when the adrenaline finally wore off and exhaustion finally took over.

“Yurio?!” Yuuri called out in surprise.

The boy was breathing faintly as he changed into his iguana form, the man picked him up felt that he was burning up.

“Don’t worry Yurio, let’s get you inside!”

And with that he used all his energy to run back to the house and once he was inside he slammed the sliding glass door shut and locked it.

Yuuri placed Yurio on the futon and ran to get some water.

“Don’t worry Yuuri… I’m fine…”

The man stopped and saw that Yurio had changed back into a human with the blanket around his waist.

“are you sure? You were burning up when I held you,” He asked giving him a glass.

“I’m fine really. I was just relived that we got out of there…. Please don’t go back in the forest,” the boy begged, “Victor will drag you back and there’s no way he’ll let you go.”

This was the first time Yuuri had ever seen the boy so fearful.

“What is he?”

Yurio trembled as he spoke, “like he said in the cave, he’s our last king. If you think I hate humans, he will kill a human without hesitation.”

That confused Yuuri, if Victor hated humans then why is he alive?

As if reading his thought Yurio spoke, “I don’t know why but still,” he turned to Yuuri with pleading eyes, “Please don’t go back to the forest.”

“Yurio…”

The boy threw himself in the man’s arm in a hug, “Please…. Don’t go… don’t go…”

Yuuri was surprised at the boy’s behavior but he knew that it must be from what he endured when he was young.

“Alright Yurio,” he patted the boys back gently, “I won’t go back. I promise.”

“good…”

“but how am I going to study the reptiles?”

“Wait for the grant and travel somewhere else.”

“It’s going to be a while.”

“Don’t care.”

Yuuri chuckled softly, ‘Whatever… lets order a pizza or something.”

That perked up the boy, “With extra pepperoni?”

“And extra cheese, just the way you like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it good?  
> Sorry Yurio was ooc but I needed to set the mood. I hope I captured the father and son bond between Yuuri and Yurio.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yurio learns something shocking about his new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to make a chapter bout Yurio doing some chores

Three days had passed since the incident in forest and since that day, Yurio made it his personal mission to accompany Yuuri everywhere he went as long as he was in the messenger bag.

As promised, Yuuri never went back to the forest despite the temptations to study the reptiles there. But he did not want to agitate the boy right now.

Yurio was starting to shed and stress was something he needed to avoid.

Right now, Yurio was on the roof of their house sunbathing while Yuuri was working the pump outside the bath house.

At first, he was in iguana form and he changed into his human form.

“Oi, pork cutlet bowl! How old is this house anyway?” He called out.

It hadn’t occurred to the boy at first but he noticed how old their new home looked very different from the family home in the city he chose not say anything because Yurio enjoyed walking around in his human form. He didn’t have to worry about being caught and he can eat all the pirozhki and snacks he wants.

Yuuri looked up and smiled wiping the sweat off his forehead, “it was built in 1955.”

Not knowing much about time, the boy raised an eyebrow.

“Um… it’s as old as my dad.”

“this place is ancient?”

The man nodded and motioned him to get down from the roof.

“You sunbathed long enough Yurio, help me with the pump.”

Yurio hissed but did as he was told, he threw on a long red sweater with a lion on the front and jumped from the roof. He walked barefoot and to his master and waited for instructions.

“Alright, just keep pulling this up and down until the water becomes clear, I’ll get some water from the river.”

The boy stiffened at the thought of Yuuri being out of his sight but all the man did was smile softly and pointed that the river was close by.

“I’ll be right there okay?”

Yurio made a soft nod and grabbed the iron pump did what was demonstrated while Yuuri walked off with a large plastic bucket. The water was a bit red from the rust and he made a disgusted face. He did not want to drink that much less bathe in it he thought to himself. With each pump he made, the flaking skin on his face fell off and landed on the ground.

 _‘I need a bath,_ ’ whined the iguana.

He felt so itchy in both forms that only a bath could relive him but the water was not inviting.

“Don’t worry Yurio the water will clear up soon and you can have your bath,” Yuuri said as he walked back to him with the bucket full of water.

“What makes you think I want a bath?” The boy muttered, hiding his pout.

A gentle hand ruffled his blonde hair and the boy blushed.

“Because you love baths during your shedding.”

“Shut up…”

The water finally became clear and Yuuri poured water into the pump.

“Keep pumping until the water gets cold while I get the fire wood.”

“Fire wood?”

Yuuri nodded, “this is an old house Yurio, we don’t have what we had back home so we are going to have to live like this until the grant.”

Yurio growled as he continue4d to pump, “No cable, no internet, we have to pump for water and gather firewood. Is there anything modern in this house?!”

“Electricity and before we moved here, it was updated so we won’t blow a fuse,” Yuuri said in a blunt tone, his glasses shined over.

A low growl rumbled from the iguana’s throat.

“I miss the city…”

“Once the grant comes here, we’ll have all that stuff. I promise.”

Yurio pouted and did his chore.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! I'm pretty sure you guys know about the movie!  
> That's good news but.... I have mixed feelings about it. Don't get me wrong, I love that YOI is continuing but making a movie about it has more cons than pros for fans outside of Japan. Because most likely it will not go to crunchyroll which was my main gateway to watch the episodes as they aired.  
> Some fans live in places where their theaters will not play an anime movie, have a theater that's too far away or can't afford a ticket because tickets are too damn expensive.  
> That's some of the main problems with the anime world sadly. They cater to the fans in their country sometimes while the fans outside have to figure out a way to see it.  
> But it will NOT stop me from loving Sensei for her work!!
> 
> LETS CONTIUE TO SUPPORT HER AND THE STAFF!!! AND BEG CRUNCHYROLL TO PUT THE MOVIE ON THEIR WEBISTE SO THE FANS OUTISDE OF JAPAN CAN SEE IT!!!

Yuuri sat on the porch of his house with a mug of hot tea in his hand while Yurio was enjoying a plate of collard green salad in his iguana form.

Today was the day they would get the grant from the society and for obvious reasons, Yurio was to stay in his true form for the whole day since the grant was to be delivered by a representative of the group.

The Conservation of Reptiles Society AKA The Society was an elite well known organization dedicated to the study of reptiles and efforts to save the endangered ones from extinction. They were funded by a private donor to do so and they were able to save at three reptiles on the verge of extinction.

But to be a part of it much less get a grant from them was near impossible. You could be top of you class with high honors in university and they would not accept you. Yuuri himself didn’t believe that he would get the grant.

All he did was send them his journals that held information about Yurio. In them were his notes about how the iguana and his habits along with pictures and drawings.

That was all and they approved it.

Maybe he was lucky who knows.

Yurio finished his meal and crawled onto Yuuri’s lap, he was glaring at him but it wasn’t with his usual attitude. He was bored and wanted to watch a movie but he understood that he needed to stay in his form for the whole day. Yuuri sighed and softly rubbed the top of the iguana’s head with two fingers.

“I know, it sucks right now but it’s for today,” He said softly, “I’ll make you some pirozhki when this is over okay?”

Yurio blinked his green eyes and closed them, if he could talk he would halfheartedly agree. He just wished that stupid person with the money would show now.

Twenty minutes later, a sleek black car was seen in the distance and Yuuri stood up with Yurio in his arms.

“That could be them,” He said to the boy who in turn crawled to the man’s shoulder, “Be on your best behavior alright?”

Yurio leaned his head against his caretaker’s cheek in response and he received a rub on the head.

_‘I promise. As long as I get my pirozhki!’_

X

Mila raised her head above the tall grass as she observed her king’s mate.

And so far, he was boring!

For the past week, all she could report to Victor was that the human man did nothing but walk around the house from what she could see through the clear doors, either watching something from the weird black thing on the floor, eating, sleeping, dancing or writing something down in that book of his. And when he was outside, he would get water, chop fire wood or tend to the garden he recently planted.

Although she will say this to the king, the human was kind.

It was because of the way he treated the iguana Yurachka or ‘Yurio’ as he kept insisting was his name. The human would let the boy walk around freely in human form and in iguana form and not once did the human repulse at the sight of the transformation, not even once. And that itself was interesting.

Just as she was to leave and report to Victor, a strange animal pulled up to the human’s den and Mila felt something ominous.

_‘My king! Please come here!’_

X

Yuuri walked to the black car and greeted the man with the black suit.

“Hello, are you from the society?”

The man with jet black hair and dark sunglasses nodded and greeted him with a smile.

“Yes I am. Are you Katsuki Yuuri?”

Before Yuuri could answer, He felt Yurio shake and his claws dug to his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks!  
> For now that is..  
> After reading this please support my other YOI Fanfics. It would mean a lot to me if you do!!  
> Night!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Sorry about that crazy ad I posted.... I'll take it down once the issue is fixed please enjoy this chapter ^^

Yurio never mentioned his past life before the pet store.

One time, Yuuri asked him once when they were alone and the poor boy just couldn’t say a word without fighting the urge to cry.

It was too painful to speak about it but he remembered it as if it were yesterday.

His grandfather told him to never leave the canopy. It was too dangerous because the humans were getting closer and they did not want to take the risk.

But being the stubborn hothead he was, Yurio left the safety of home and ventured near the human village for food. He tried to be elusive and he thought being in his human form would throw them off but he didn’t think that they had the tools to see him in the act.

They came that night.

With their bright lights.

And their guns.

Yurio was separated from his grandfather but could hear his terrified screams. His lovers were cornered and they disappeared when the nets were thrown.

And the next thing he knew, a man with shades cornered him and everything went black.

And that was when he woke up at that pet store.

All alone.

He knew that his grandfather was as a good as gone.

His lovers were probably killed for their skins or worse, forced breeding to meet with the demand of iguana pets.

Yurio wanted to hate humans so much but he just couldn’t find it in himself to hate Yuuri. He took care of him, fed him, played with him and just loved him.

He just couldn’t do it.

But he did hate the humans who destroyed his life and he could never forget that human who took him.

It was the same human he was looking at right now. He could feel the deep anger within him bubbling over and he clenched his claws.

“Yurio?” he heard the voice of his caretaker and he stopped clenching with he realized that his claws pierced the human’s skin.

Yuuri rubbed the top of the iguana’s head with concern as he looked at the man, “I’m sorry, he’s not a fan of strangers. Come on in, I’ll make us some tea.”

The man nodded and followed the young scientist inside his humble home.

Once inside, Yuuri made a beeline towards Yurio’s habitat but instead of putting him inside, he immediately put the boy in the brown messenger bag when his guest was not looking.

Yurio looked at him with a confused look but the human man gently shushed him and closed the bag.

“Just stay in there until I say it’s safe. Don’t move.”

And with that he put the bag near the sliding glass door and went to the kitchen while the man was still looking around.

“Sorry about the mess mister… Um….?”

The man smiled, “You can call me Tsukune. So... how long have you been wanting to be a herpetologist?”

Yuuri filled the kettle and put on the stove to boil, “I believe I wrote it down when it sent my application.”

“I know but I want to hear it in your words.”

“Mhm… Well it is because I have always been obsessed with reptiles ever since I saw Steve Irwin as a kid. That and I used to catch lizards in my backyard to study them and I would set them free.”

Tsukune nodded and Yuuri saw that the man did not look interested in the small interview.

The kettle whistled and the young man took out the cups that were still in the moving boxes. He filled that cups with the hot water and went looking for the tea bags.

“So, care to explain about your pet iguana?”

“What’s there to say? I’ve had him since I was a kid, he was my birthday present.”

He found the tea bags and his cellphone rang.

“Excuse me for a minute.”

“Okay..”

Yuuri walked towards the doors with a cup in hand.

“Hello?”

It was a young woman’s voice.

**“Ahh Mr. Katsuki! I’m so glad I got a hold of you! I’m calling on behalf of the Society.”**

Tsukune slowly approached Yuuri when his back was turned.

**“Listen, the representative couldn't make it today because he had a family emergency. We already wired your grant to your bank account. We would love to have you come see us in the city soon! I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”**

Yuuri smiled kindly, “No problem, thank you. Have a nice day.”

He hung up the phone and with a swift turn, he splashed Tsukune with the scalding hot water.

“AHHH!”

Yuuri wasted no time, he grabbed the messenger bag and bolted out the open sliding door. He held the bag close to his chest and ran straight to the forest, ignoring the danger.

All he cared was that he had to protect Yurio, even if it meant that he would risk a run in with Victor.

He heard a loud popping sound and something flew past him. Something warm and wet fell down his cheek but he kept running.

He promised Yurio that he would protect him and if it meant that he would die, so be it.

Yuuri continued to doge the bullets until he crashed into a bare chest, he looked up and saw that it was Victor and he could see it in his eyes that he was angry.

Victor wrapped his arms around his mate and glared daggers at the man who dared to attack him.

“You filthy human…” He hissed, his beautiful blue eyes were red with rage and his fangs elongated, “How dare you attack my mate?!”

For some reason, Yuuri felt safe in the snake’s arms and he cradled the bag that held Yurio closer to his chest. The iguana popped his head out of the bag and for once did not fight to get Yuuri away from the older reptile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.... Victor is mad.....


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!!  
> Sorry I've been MIA from this story, I have been using my energy for my other YOI Fic because I everything down to the last chapter!!!

Yuuri trembled when he heard the ice tone of Victor’s voice as he hissed at Tsukune. He wanted to escape from the scaly arms but he had no options.

Tsukune’s sunglasses fell off revealing black wild eyes but he did not tremble at the sight of the naga. Instead he aimed his gun at the creature.

“I’m a filthy human?!” He spat, “You are filthy! Unnatural!”

A low hiss escaped from the silver snake’s teeth as he picked up Yuuri. Normally he would have dealt with the human himself but he felt the distress of his human mate and knew that what was going to happen was something Yuuri should not see. Using his calming pheromones, he put Yuuri to sleep

_‘Carry out my will Mila!’_

_‘Yes, my king.’_

Mila appeared behind Tsukune and wrapped her tail around him, knocking his gun out of his hands. He barely had time to react when it happened.

Once he said his order, Victor took Yuuri and slithered into the deep forest but Yurio would have it, he jumped out of the bag and transformed in front of the pair.

“Where are you taking him?!” He demanded.

Victor just glared at the boy, “I am taking him to safety Yurachka.”

“Yeah right! You’re going to claim him!”

The king looked at the boy with a stern look but the iguana would not budge, Yurio would rather die than to let Yuuri get claimed against his will.

“You take him home! Right now!”

“You’re giving me orders?” Victor said with an amused voice.

Yurio clenched his fists and growled, “take him home! Now!”

Before the king could open his mouth, the boy spoke out.

“I know about the damn snakes! So don’t you dare make an excuse that taking back to your cave will protect him!”

With a sigh, Victor decided to obey the boy. Just to humor him of course.

“Fine. I’ll take him back to that… house.”

And with that, Victor took Yuuri to the direction of the house but Yurio stayed behind with Mila who still had her tail in the coil.

“He’s still alive?” He asked, teeth bared and fists still clenched.

Mila gave one nod, “I haven’t received my order yet so I’m stuck.”

A sigh escaped from the boy, he had forgotten about how reptiles like him were.

“You can just do it you know. He made it perfectly clear that you can kill him.”

“True,” Mila said while shrugging her shoulders, “But…”

“But what?”

“I saw the way you reacted to him, you know him?”

Yurio could only glare at the coil.

“He was one of the men who ruined my life…”

Within the coil a deep chuckle was heard and Mila moved her tail to where the boy could see the man

“I thought I recognized you. It was strange that a fully-grown iguana was yellow at first but imagine my surprise when it turns out to be the brat from brazil.”

Tsukune was calm as if he resigned himself to his fate but then again, he knew what happens to humans once these abominations got a hold of them.

Yurio growled, “What did you do to my grandpa?!”

The man began to think for bit, mocking him by making humming noises, “Hm…. Oh, the old man? Yea, he was too old so he wasn’t going to bring much money. And his skin was too saggy…. He was better off dead.”

Tsukune smirked seeing the color drain from Yurio’s face as he was told the truth.

Yurio tried to hold back his emotions as he asked another question, “… My lovers… what… did you do to them?!”

“Which one?” the man’s smirk was mocking him again, “The one with the serious eyes? Or the pretty one?”

A feral growl escaped from Yurio’s throat and he tried his best not to attack.

“Such beautiful skins, rare colors you’d don’t see on an average lizard”, Tsukune was enjoying the heartbroken look on Yurio’s face, “They sold for a good price. Two million each, the buyers probably made good wallets out of them.”

Yurio lost it, he pounced on Mila’s coil and wrapped his clawed hands around the man’s neck. Cursing and snarling.

Mila pushed him away and wrapped her tail around Tsukune one last time.

“Don’t!” Yurio cried out in will anger, “Let me kill him!”

But the snake denied his demands and spoke with a calming tone, “Now, now Yurachka. What would Yuuri think if he found out his dear iguana killed a man?”

Hearing that made the boy stop his bloodlust.

The last thing he wanted was for Yuuri to look at him with disappointed look on his face.

“F-Fine… just let me see… please make it slow and painful… make him feel what I feel.”

Normally Mila would only follow Victor’s orders but since she knew of the boy’s past, she did as the iguana requested.

Yurio watched as the coil tightened, he heard the sick cracking of bones and watched as the blood drip from the tail. Tsukune did not even scream in agony, not a sound from him was heard.

“That was disappointing,” he grumbled and walked away.

He wanted to see the man dead but he drew the line about wanting to see the body. He made the long walk back to the house when Mila spoke to him in his mind.

_“You do know that being with a human is dangerous, right?”_

_“I’m not with him in that way. He is my caretaker.”_

_“either way, it’s dangerous.”_

Yurio huffed, “Don’t underestimate him because he’s a human. He can handle himself.”

He walked until he was close to the house where, to his surprise, Victor was waiting for him. In his snake form, coiled up on the stone porch next to the rubber shoes Yuuri wore whenever he would go outside.

“Wow. You actually left him alone?” Yurio crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Victor raised his head, “You did say that you wanted him home. Unclaimed as promised.”

“That won’t score any brownie points from me.”

“brownie points?”

“It’s a human phrase.”

The iguana walked over the silver snake and slammed the door shut.

_“I think I’ll stay here and watch over him.”_

_“You do that and I’ll eat you!”_

Yuri could hear the soft chuckles outside.

_“As if a tiny iguana can eat a king.”_

The boy smirked, _“If the king is stupid enough to be in his snake form. Especially one that still can’t grow legs.”_

He heard nothing until a deep hiss sent chills down his spine. It was no secret that Victor, the king of the reptiles, could not turn into a full human no matter how hard he tried. A very sensitive subject to him and those who pointed it out would suffer the deadliest of consequences.

_“I’d watch that mouth if I were you Yurachka. It will get you to some trouble.”_

Yurio rolled his eyes, _“Whatever…. And… MY NAMES IS YURIO!”_

And after that yell, Yurio used his tail to shut the curtains.

It was still day time so he didn’t have to turn on the lights, he found Yuuri sleeping on the futon. Yurio didn’t smell that much of Victor on him so he knew that he kept his word to keep his scaly hands off him.

Yurio grabbed a discarded t-shirt and threw it on before kneeling down next to his sleeping friend. The pheromones were wearing off so he predicted that it would be about an hour or so until he would wake up. Which was unfortunate now because Yurio needed him, he wanted a hug. Anything to help ease the grief he was feeling.

His grandfather was gone and then his lovers.

They were gone…

All gone…

Yurio’s vision blurred as tears welled up in his green eyes. A strangled sob threatened to escape and his small body shook as the emotions he kept hidden were threatening to explode. He gripped bits of his shirt to keep them in as he continued to watch over Yuuri.

And that was when Yuuri opened his eyes.

“Yurio? Whats the matter?”

The boy was surprised when the human actually woke up, pheromones from the king were powerful after all.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” The man said as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, “first, I was in this hazy place and then I felt that you were in trouble. What’s wrong?”

At first Yurio wanted to lie and put on his tough boy act but he didn’t. Instead he wrapped his arms around Yuuri and finally let his emotions out.

“Yurio?”

All he heard were broken sobs and the grip around him tightened. The only thing Yuuri could do was gently rub the boy’s soft hair and hum Yurio’s favorite lullaby Agape to calm him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go~  
> I hope you guys enjoyed it!  
> Please give my other YOI stuff some support!
> 
> There's a reason why Victor cant be a full human but that will be explained later ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have now reached the tenth chapter!  
> Enjoy!!!

“He was very quiet and a bit of an introvert but he was really nice once you got to know him,” Yurio said softly as Yuuri gave him some pirozhki to eat.

After he had calmed down, he slowly spoke to the man about what he had learned about the fate of his family, his father was gone. That he kind of knew already but he didn’t know the fate of his lovers. Until now that is.

Yuuri listened as the boy talked about one of them.

One lover was a shy one who preferred to be alone and he rarely turned human. No one knew where he came, one day he just showed up at the canopy. Yurio’s grandfather allowed him to stay since they were far from the humans and they had a good food supply. He never talked about his family but it was suspected that he lost them to the humans since he was very disgusted of his human form. The silent iguana would always just sit on a branch and watch the sunset, never interacting with anyone.

But that didn’t stop Yurio from interacting with him every once in a while, until they bonded.

“what about the other one?” Yuuri asked sitting in front of Yurio.

The boy made a soft smiled.

“She was amazing but if you made her mad, you better run.”

The other lover, a girl, was a firecracker who was not afraid of anything. He knew her since the day they hatched, she was an orphan just like him and she was raised by his grandfather. She was the one who would get food since she was the darkest in color and she blended in with the forest well. Like him, she too had bonded with the silent iguana.

He loved them and they loved him.

“You were real lovers?” Yuuri asked with great curiosity since he got the boy when he was still a child.

Yurio shrugged his shoulders, “Well remember Katsudon, my kind is completely different from humans. But we were called lovers because we were always together, we never mated. We may have been young but we really did love each other.”

He looked at his half eaten pirozhki sadly, “It… was all my fault…”

“Yurio?”

“I wasn’t supposed to leave the canopy… my scales attracted to much attention….”

The many times his grandfather told him to stay in the canopy was for the same reason, his bright yellow scales. Many humans would try to get a picture of him because of them and it caused a great deal of concern among those in the canopy.

“The humans were getting closer and he told me to stay… but I didn’t listen like the idiot I am….”

Large tears fell from his green eyes and fell on the bread but he didn’t care, he wasn’t hungry anymore.

“If I listened…. They would be alive….”

Yurio was close to having another breakdown when he felt Yuuri’s arms wrap around him.

“You’ve been blaming yourself all these years?”

“It’s true, I messed up and my family paid for it,” Yurio sniffled softly.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was….”

Yuuri rubbed the boys back softly, “No it was not. Even if you listened they would have found you anyway. None of this is your fault.

He then made Yurio look at him.

“None is this is your fault.”

The boy was still sniffling but he slowly nodded.

“Grandpa didn’t like humans but… I think he would have liked you…”

Yuuri smiled softly and hugged the boy closer.

“I miss him… I miss them…”

“I know,” the man, “But because of you, someone will know that they existed.”

That made Yurio’s eyes widen but he let a small smile show itself on his face, Yuuri was right. Yurio survived and he was going to carry the memory of his loved ones forever. As long as he was alive, they would never be forgotten.

_‘Never…’_

X

Three days after the events found Yurio eating a butternut squash whole outside. Yuuri had to go do some errands and he needed someone to watch the house while he was gone since it was going to be a long trip.

He was wearing a light white sweater and black shorts; his blonde hair was tied back since he hadn’t cut it in a while and his scale patches were clean from the nice bath he was given by Yuuri.

 _‘This is the life,’_ He thought to himself as he sat cross-legged on the patio.

Yurio took a big bite out of his squash and wagged his tail in happy content.

But then the mood soured when he sensed an unwelcomed visitor near Yuuri’s garden.

 _‘You’re lucky I’m eating this instead trying to eat you,’_ He said telepathically.

A deep chuckled was heard he watched as Victor’s body emerged from the grass.

“You are very brave Yurachka, it’s not every day a small lizard threatens their king.”

Yurio rolled his eyes and took another bite from his squash, _‘And if memory serves me, you are not my king. And quit calling me that, I have a name and its Yurio!’_

Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You know you can talk without telepathy, right?”

_‘I know but my mouth is full and its considered rude to talk with your mouth full.’_

The snake looked at the boy with a disapproving look.

_‘What?’_

“You’re acting like a human Yurachka!” Victor snapped, “You know they are the enemy.”

After swallowing, Yurio glared at him, “Says who? You? Or the previous king who turned his back on us?”

“Human are evil boy. They care about no one but themselves and won’t help others unless they get something in return. Need I remind you of the countless wars they have started over nothing?”

Yurio shot back, “As if our kind isn’t any different… If I remember correctly, the previous king left us all to die at the hands of poachers.”

Victor clenched his fists when he remembered those dark days.

In their world, the king was to protect all the reptiles who could turn human. It was a role that was taken seriously and it required deep dedication. The reptiles trusted their king for protection and tranquility.

But the previous king broke that trust when he was seduced by a human woman and was distracted from his responsibilities. Many lives were lost because of this treachery but he did not seem to care, it was all about his human and nothing more.

Victor stood up against this and fought back but was easily defeated the first time.

But instead of cowering after he disappeared, he came back and was victorious this time. He was crowned the new king and he vowed to make their former king pay for what he had done.

As for the human lover, she was killed by humans and the previous king disappeared.

“And you’re being a bit of a hypocrite for trying to claim a human for a mate,” Yurio added matter-of-factly, “That’s what happened to that cobra.”

That did not deter Victor at all, “I have my reasons to have him.”

“Is it because he nursed you back to health?”

For a moment, the snake stiffened with surprise.

“Yuuri tells me everything when it comes to his obsession with us. It’s annoying as hell but it makes him happy,” Yurio said with a shrug of his shoulders but a smile was on his face, “Which reminds me, he went out to the city and won’t be back until later tonight.”

The king pouted when he realized that his ‘mate’ was not in his hut.

The sky began to glow orange as the sun was starting to set which meant the Victor had to go.

Before he left, he gave Yurio a final warning.

“if I were you Yurachka, I would leave and go to the rainforest while I still had the chance. Mila did warn you about being with a human, right?”

Victor turned back into snake and slithered into the tall grass before the boy had a chance to tell him off. Instead he stood up on his feet and walked inside the house and began to do the chores he was supposed to have done before Yuuri left the house.

All he had to do was clean the dishes and put them away. He was cleaning a large silver mixing spoon when he noticed something in the reflection.

“What?”

Yurio dipped it in the water, took it out and cleaned it again and saw the same thing in the reflection.

“No way…!”

The boy darted to the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror to confirm what he saw in the spoon.

The bright yellow scale patches on his face were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!*
> 
> What's happening?!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I wont tell!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guy! *ducks from tomatoes* sorry I haven't been around much! I have been busy with my other YOI fic.   
> Well heres chapter 11!

Yuuri stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked down the empty halls of the museum of natural history. It was in the city just outside of where he lived and he decided to go see for himself since it was unusually quiet that day.

It was also the headquarters of the Society.

He called them that morning and said that he was going to the museum to talk and they said that they would be   happy to have him and they set a time for them to meet.

A replica of the common iguana caught his eyes and he couldn’t help but smile a bit when it looked like it was glaring at him.

‘Yurio does the same thing when he’s in that form,’ He thought fondly, ‘He glared at me the day I got him.’

He remembered as if it were yesterday.

It was his eighth birthday and he was opening the last gift of the day, the joy he felt when he saw the small iguana glaring at him was something he never wanted to forget.

It took a while for him to earn the boy’s trust considering his past but in the end, it worked.

“Mr. Katsuki?” A young voice asked as it interrupted his thoughts.

Yuuri turned towards the voice and saw a young man with a tan complexion, black hair and thick eyebrows. The smile on his face reminded Yuuri of a hamster for some reason.

“Um... Yes, that’s me,” He replied politely and that was when he recognized the voice, “We spoke on the phone this morning didn’t we?”

The man smiled, “Yup! I’m so glad you could make it!”

His bright personality was something to see, his teeth were perfect whit and Yuuri took a mental note of the canines being somewhat longer and sharper.

“My name is Phichit Chulanont! But please call me Phichit,” He said, “Please follow me, we have much to talk about.”

Yuuri nodded and followed Phichit to the research facility that was located around the hall.

“You know we have been looking for that type of iguana for a while now,” Phichit said with his back still to Yuuri, “When we got your application, we assumed that your iguana was an albino because of his coloring.”

Yuuri smiled a bit, “I don’t blame you, I thought he was an albino too until I saw that his coloring was different from an albino.”

That was when Phichit stopped and turned around, “That was what we noticed! And your notes are perfectly detailed as well, we have received many notes in other applications but yours had not only details but passion for what you do! And from the way your Yurio is seen in the pictures, he is well loved and taken care of. A far cry from what you described when you first got him.”

Yuuri smiled as he rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah, he was a stubborn thing but I was patient until he opened up.”

The answer seemed to satisfy Phichit and began to walk again until he stopped in front of a door that had a window with its blinds down.

“come on in, we have lots to talk about.”

“…. Okay.”

Phichit lets Yuuri enter first before walking himself, he took a quick look around at the hallways before shutting the door.

The sound of a lock clicking echoed throughout the empty halls.

X

Yurio flipped frantically through the page of the album he had found in Yuuri’s study.

He was looking for any picture of himself whenever he was in his human form. Even though Yuuri was very cautious about keeping his secret, there were rare times when he would snap a picture or two. And he was desperate to find one to make his growing anxiety will go away.

‘Come on…. Come on…...!’

Just when he was close to throwing the book away, Yurio finally found what he was looking for.

It was a picture of him standing next to a Godzilla cosplayer while he wore just casual clothing. It was only at conventions when Yurio was free to walk in a human crowd only because he didn’t have to hide his scales and tail. Yuuri wanted to go but Yurio didn’t want him to leave so instead of fighting about it, he took the iguana with him.

They were swarmed of course because of Yurio’s amazing ‘cosplay’ and the boy had a good time.

Yuuri snapped the picture he was staring at now but Yurio was looking at it for reminiscing. He was looking at to confirm what he had seen in the bathroom mirror.

The Yurio in the picture had small splotches of yellow scales on his face, he pulled out a small hand mirror and compared his face now to his face then.

“They’re gone….” Yurio whispered in disbelief.

‘I told you.’

A growl escaped from the boy’s throat as he got up and ran outside to confront Victor who was at the door.

“What do you want?!” He barked.

Victor just stood there with his arms crossed, a disapproving look on his face, “I see you have noticed the changes.”

Yurio growled and clenched his fists tightly and did not care if his claws were going to make him bleed.

“That’s what happens to our kind Yurachka. If we mingle with the humans, if we live with the humans or if we abandon who we are then we forget who are and what we are. It’s happening to you already; your beautiful scales are gone!”

Yurio looked away, “I have not forgotten who I am. I am Yurio, a yellow iguana!”

“who is acting more and more like a human, I have seen you play with human instruments, you eat at the human table and you act like his own personal slave.”

“I like the video games, I hate eating in my habitat and its called doing my chores!”

Victor narrowed his eyes and turned to slither away, “Keep denying what is happening to you Yurachka. Today it is your scales maybe tomorrow your tail falls off and never grows back or maybe you will forget how to transform-“

Yurio ran back inside and slammed the sliding door closed.

_‘I am serious Yurachka, leave and go back to the rainforest.’_

“No!”

He dove into the futon and threw the blanket over him to block the silver snake from his mind.

_‘Even if I did leave, I’ll be alone.’_

Yurio curled into a ball and sighed sadly, _‘I don’t care if I forget who I am, I don’t want to be alone_.’

X

Yuuri looked around the sterile room and marveled at the many tanks that held exotic looking reptiles, he wanted to act like an over enthusiastic fanboy and name all the specie by their scientific names but he did his best to act professional in front of Phichit.

But it was so tempting!

“So, Mr. Katsuki!” said man asked, jolting Yuuri out of his happy place.

“Y-Yes?”

“I know you wanted to talk with us,” Phichit’s tone was oddly serious, “but I have a big favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

The Thai man stood over a tank that was covered with a white sheet, “Your notes about how you were able to get Yurio to trust you… I was wondering you could help me with these guys.”

And with that, Phichit pulled the sheet off to reveal two black iguanas, one was asleep on its stomach and the other had its head on top of the other’s, it blinked because of the sudden light but did not move from its spot.

“They came in about four months ago and only recently we were able to at least touch them without the risk of being bit.”

Yuuri kneeled to the ground and observed the awake iguana win wonder, “They came in?”

“Yea, the police busted an illegal animal smuggling ring at the ports and these two were the only reptiles,” Phichit then pointed at the scares on the back of the alert one, “This guy has had his skin removed by poachers for wallet, it’s a miracle he’s still alive.”

And then he pointed at the sleeping iguana, “And this one had her tail chopped when she fought back against forced breeding, her tail just grew back.”

Yuuri was stunned to hear that such beautiful creatures were tortured in such a way, “What do you want me to do?”

He was prepared to do anything to help them, he wanted to be a herpetologist for a reason.

Phichit smiled and gave his answer, “I would like for you to get them to tell you what happened to them.”

“…. Huh?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have liked the idea of Yurio being able to go out in public if there's a convention nearby so that way he won't be suspicious looking because they'll think he's in cosplay ^^


	12. Chapter 12

Yuuri’s heart stopped when he was given the unusual task.

First instinct told him to run but he did not want to leave the two iguanas behind.

Rather, he didn’t want to leave the many reptiles behind.

Phichit’s smile was still on his face when he senses the distress of the man, “I know, you are wondering why I said, ‘get them to tell you’ instead of ‘figuring out what happened’, right?”

He didn’t need a verbal answer from the Japanese’s man who put a protective arm in front of the glass case.

“Please Mr. Katsuki, I mean you no harm,” He said softly.

Yuuri still held his guard up but he convinced himself to believe Phichit, “How much do you know?”

“Enough to know that your iguana is one of us,” the man said bluntly.

‘He thinks I’m that dumb?’ Yuuri thought to himself, “Sorry but I have a hard time believing you.”

The look of surprise flashed on the Thai man’s face but he smiled again, “Yup, I knew it. You can be trusted!”

“Eh?”

“do you how many times I have said that and people go along with it?!” Phichit was now close to Yuuri’s face, “Every time they did, I knew that I couldn’t trust them, why do you think its so hard to get a grant with us!?”

Yuuri was still confused about what the man was saying, “Uh… because you’re that elite?”

“Mmm…. Sort of but there’s more to it than that,” Phichit pulled back and became professional again, “because The Society, found and funded by my father Celestino Cialdini, is very much known for the study of reptiles and saving from extinction but……”

Phichit around to make sure there wasn’t any leaks, “If I tell you, you won’t blab about this to the public, right?”

“I won’t just tell me what is going on!”

“easy there, alright what I said about the society is true but its only half of what it’s for,” Phichit took out his smartphone and swiped at the screen until he showed Yuuri the screen.

It was a picture of shirtless man sitting on a metal table getting bandaged from various injuries, it may have seemed a bit ordinary if it weren’t for the long snake’s body attached to the man’s lower torso.

“His name is Seung Gil, we saved him from the black market last year, he was almost skinned to make a belt,” Phichit explained, a hint of sadness was laced in his voice, “he’s living with one of our scientists back in South Korea until he’s healed.”

Yuuri was silent because he lost his words, he could not believe it.

“The Society was created to rescue the surviving members of the Reptilian clan and hopefully integrate them to human society.”

Finding his voice again, Yuuri spoke, “You said ‘one of us’… are you…?”

“I am a proud _Varanus rudicollis_!” Phichit said with pride, his were on his hip and his head was held high.

Yuuri gulped and would have bolted if the man hadn’t of laughed.

“Don’t worry, I only bite when I’m in my form, I’m harmless.”

“Uh huh…. But what makes you think these two are… um….”

“we call them shapeshifters because I forgot what our race is called,” The Thai said in nervous laughter, “But to answer your first question, it the tails.”

Cautiously, Phichit reached in the case and picked up the male iguana and earned a growl in return.

“If you truly an aspiring herpetologist, you should know that iguanas don’t growl so that’s a telltale sign,” He said as he put the reptile on the metal table, “Alright now we know that the common trait of the iguana is the rings around their tails but if you look here, you can see that the rings are unique.”

Yuuri looked and took notice of the unique squiggly line of the black rings.

“to some it makes them look like the result of unique breeding but it’s not the case,” Phichit took the iguana back to the case where he went back to his rightful place on the female who was starting to stir.

“I tried to get them to talk to me but they wouldn’t budge and even after I transformed to get them to trust me, they refuse to turn human to say a simple ‘hello’.”

“I see, Yurio was the same way when I first got him,” Yuuri said as he watched the pair walk around the case, “I don’t blame them for not trusting anyone after what they have gone through.”

Phichit nodded and asked one more time, “Will you help us with them? Show them that not all humans are bad and that we want them to go home where they belong?”

Yuuri did not think twice when he accepted the offer.

X

“Yurio? I’m home!” Yuuri announced as he walked through the door of his house, “I brought Chinese!”

He held bags that held lo mein, orange chicken and fried rice.

Looking around when he didn’t hear a response, Yuuri saw a lump in the futon that Yurio had not folded up. With a sigh, he closed the door and kicked his shoes off before walking to the lump.

“Wake up you,” He said softly with a smile, “If you don’t, I’ll eat your chicken.”

The lump groaned and a blonde head popped out from the blanket, “You’re going to get fat again if you do that.”

“Its pretty to get fat these days after having you around,” Yuuri said as he ruffled the boy’s hair, “Wash your face, ill get us some plates and make some tea.”

“Soda,” Yurio protested as he stood up and walked to the bathroom, careful not to let his tail sway and knock things over.

“It’s passed seven so no. What movie to do you want to see this time?”

“… anything funny.”

X

Yurio was back in his rightful place next to Yuuri as they watched a movie about some cartoon character being framed for murder. He held his plate of orange chicken and ate them by hand because he did not like to use utensils sometimes.

“Fork Yurio,” Yuuri said with the sternness of a father.

“Hm!” But the boy obeyed.

Reaching for the plastic fork, Yurio caught a small whiff of a scent on Yuuri’s clothing, it smelled familiar. Like the smell of greenery in the sunset or the scent of orchids as they bloomed.

_“Yurachka!” the soft voice of someone who was happy._

_“Yura…” The voice of someone who had few but meaningful words._

Shaking away those old memories, Yurio ate his dinner and chuckled when the man in the black robe was run over by a road roller.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phichit is roughneck monitor lizard native to Thailand, they can bite a human to death. that's why Yuuri was spooked.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I.... can't... belive it!   
> WE MADE IT TO 10,000 HITS!  
> I'm so happy! I could cry!
> 
> Makes me wish I could draw because I would love to see fanart of this story you know? But im glad with the hits ^^  
> Thank you everyone for enjoying this!  
> I love you all!

Alright while Yuuri was very happy to help Phichit get the two iguanas to talk, he remembered something about the breed.

They were stubborn.

He found himself sitting in a padded room with two black iguanas staring at him from a safe distance away.

It had only been three days since he agreed to take the job but he found himself getting frustrated from lack of progress.

He tried talking to them but he would only receive blinking brown and violet eyes.

And forget trying to touch them, the male was super protective of the female so Yuuri respected their boundaries.

_‘Yurio was like this when I first got him, is it going to take a year before they can even trust me?’_

Yuuri took out his clipboard and began to right down the days result.

_‘The results are the same as yesterdays, no results but the male has let me observe the female without hissing. They are possibly mates or friends, I have yet to confirm both.’_

Putting the clipboard away he watched the two sat there staring back at him, “I know you don’t trust me because I’m a human but I still would like to know about you. I want to help you, if you would let me.”

The two just stared before going back to the habitat that was in the right corner of the room, Yuuri sighed and looked at the one-way mirror.

“I’m calling it a day Phichit,” He said as he got up and walked out of the room, defeated for the day but thinking of a new strategy to get them to talk.

Phichit stood on the other side biting his thumbnail, this was not good if they were not talking. He had lead on a few poachers who were arrested recently and they matched a description of a group who were believed to have been responsible for the slaughter and poaching of iguanas in the Caribbean and he had reasons to believe that the two iguanas in that room were survivors of the massacre.

“Sorry Phichit but they’re stubborn”, Yuuri said as he walked through the doors, “The only progress was that the male is letting me look at the female. Are they mates by any chance?”

“That is a mystery, I mean they seem to be very close and often we see them act like mates,” Phichit answered, “But that’s just that. They don’t mate, no breeding, no nothing.”

Yuuri hummed as he watched as the two lonely reptiles cuddled against each other in the habitat.

X

“Do what you did with me and feed them,” Yurio said as he pressed the buttons on the PlayStation controller.

Yesterday they finally got the Wi-Fi working and the boy was happily playing the games he missed for weeks.

“That was because you wanted what I was eating.”

Yuuri was in the kitchen making the weeks’ worth of lunches for the boy to eat since he was now a working man with a teenager and he did not want Yuri to eat any snacks.

“It worked, didn’t it?” the iguana paused the game and turned around, still sitting crisscross, placing his right elbow on his bent knee and leaning his head against his hand, “My kind may not look it but we love human food. Try giving them something iguanas don’t usually eat and that might help.”

“Easy for you to say, you didn’t go through what they went through.”

“I was poached and sold to that pet store”, Yurio deadpanned, “that was traumatic for me.”

“Touché.”

Then the iguana stood and walked into the kitchen to see what Yuuri was making.

“Why not try a pork cutlet bowl?” He asked as his mouth watered at the beef curry that was stewing in the tall pot, “That’s what got me to reveal myself.”

Yurio took out a spoon from the kitchen drawer and took a sample of the stew, “Needs more meat.”

“It has enough young man, go back to your game.”

The boy took another spoonful of the curry and walked back to the futon to continue his adventures in eorzea.

X

Yurio was passed out on the futon after dinner as if he had a long day of hard work. Only, all he did was play video games and watch endless movies.

 _‘I need to buy another futon if he keeps doing this,’_ Yuuri thought as he cleaned up the dishes from dinner, _‘Weird though… he usually goes into his habitat for bed.’_

“Oh well,” he said as he took out to clean plates and filled them with leftover curry and rice.

Quietly, the man walked towards the sliding glass doors and opened them. He placed the plates on the porch and went back inside, shutting the door behind him.

_‘If Yurio knew what I was doing, he’d lose his mind.’_

Yuuri locked the door and closed the new curtain he had bought that day.

The two plates sat there on the porch for a few minutes when a scaly red hand took one plate and a silver scaled plate took the other.

X

“Are you sure about this?” Phichit asked when Yuuri came back to the museum and had two bowls of curry and rice.

Yuuri nodded, “yup, Yurio said that his kind love human food. You told me that those two have been eating the typical diet of an iguana. So, I figured that they might want something with a little meat instead.”

Phichit chewed the inside of his mouth before nodding, “I don’t see any harm in that, go ahead.”

With the confirmation, Yuuri walked inside the padded room.

The male iguana was enjoying a nice dip in the wading pool while the female was basking under the heating lamp when the man came in but they paid him no mind until he placed the bowls down.

 _‘Let’s hope this works,’_ Yuuri thought to himself, “I’m pretty sure you’re tired of just greens all the time so here’s something with meat.”

Knowing that they might want to be alone he left the room but not before leaving behind his white lab coat, just in case.

“You sure this going to work?” Phichit was still skeptical about the theory.

Yuuri just smiled and watched the pair through the glass, “Yurio wanted what I was eating once and turned human for the first time in front of me. This will work.”

They watched as the iguanas looked at the food with caution, ten minutes had passed until the male finally approached the food.

“In order for this to work, he’ll have no choice but to turn human,” Phichit mumbled, “Human food like that is bad for us if we are in our reptile forms.”

The male circled around the food, used his tongue to presumably smell it and finally he let himself transform.

He was a man of medium built and he had short black hair, he had patches of black scales on his body, his tail was positioned above his backside and his hands were completely covered in scales with claw like nails. He took a piece of meat and ate it but the female was still cautious.

“Hmmm, he might think I put a sleeping drug in it and is testing it before the girl eats it.”

Phichit that that was chivalrous of the male, “Maybe they are mates.”

The male waited for another ten minutes before motioning the female to come once he confirmed it was safe.

The female approached the male and transformed as well.

She was a girl of petite stature with long black hair, she also had black scale patches on her body, his tail was above her backside and her hands were covered in scale with claw like nails.

“Woah!” Phichit turned his head away once the girl revealed herself, “Yuuri? You did leave your coat there right?”

“I did,” Yuuri also looked away, “But I don’t think they know the concept of clothing.”

“But they’ve been around humans, how do they not know?”

“Well Yurio did say that he thought clothes were my scales once.”

The two iguana each took a plate and they ate the curry with their hands. Yuuri was glad that they were eating so now it was time to approach them.

But first…

“We need another lap coat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Phichit are such gentlemen hehe  
> I hope you enjoyed this!!!


	14. Authors note

Hey guys!

Sorry this isn't a new chapter but I've been thinking of something recently. I noticed that I have been holding myself back when it comes to the story. As much as I do want it to be set in modern-day Earth I also wanted to do a bit of a fantasy crossover in a way. Kind of like Princess Mononoke but there's no princess and there's absolutely no uprising.

 

Kind of like magic does exist in that world but people are slowly turning away in favor of Technology.

 

But I wanted your opinion on it because I know a lot of you love the story so I wanted your opinion first

 

Do you want this to be the way it is or do you want it to be Rewritten to fit modern-day and fantasy mixed together?

Let me know in the comments below because your opinions are always matter to me.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I gave it some thought, I am going to mention the use of magic. It'll be mention here and there but that all for now.  
> Also im planning on writing another YOI series because I have that much time on my hands when im not working LOL  
> Which one should I write?  
> 1\. An AU where Yuuri is chosen represent Japan in a worldwide Male Beauty Pageant and struggles to survive in the pageant world.  
> 2\. AU Viktoria Nikiforov finds herself falling for Japan's ace in the hole male skater Yuuri Katsuki after a wild night after the banquet.  
> 3\. An AU where omegas Yuri and Katrina are saved by a mysterious alpha from Kazakhstan. 
> 
> I ask because I value the opinions of my readers, that and I already have the stories written.

“Open your mouth Yurio,” Yuuri told the boy who was refusing to cooperate.

“It tastes like shit!” Yurio claimed.

Yuuri frowned and tried to against, “it does not, you need it!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do!”

Yurio stomped his foot and crossed his arm,” Why did I have to do this?!”

“Because you are walking around the house in your human form, you might as well take care of it.”

The argument had been going on all morning and Yuuri was losing his patience. Getting an iguana to brush his teeth was not his idea of a chore. But then again, trying to get two iguanas to trust was far worse, he still hadn’t made any progress with them.

Yurio glared at the red, soft bristled tooth brush and sneered at, “Why do humans do this every day?!”

“Because,” Yuuri explained, “Unlike you, we only lose our teeth once, so it’s our responsibility to take care of them.”

He then narrowed his eyes and looked at the boy’s eye level, “Besides, I’m not the one with ‘alarm clock’ halitosis.”

The boy gulped and felt chills travel up his tail and to his spine, he was no stranger to Yuuri’s icy glare. He tried to get away from them but it never worked.

“Yurio, you until the count of three,” The man warned, “There’s a documentary airing in ten minutes and I don’t want to miss it because you are throwing a tantrum.”

Hearing that made the boy shiver with a force that also threatened to make his tail fall off. Yurio gulped again and slowly opened his mouth.

“Good,” Yuuri smiled and began to brush the iguana’s teeth, “I still can’t believe that your teeth can turn into human teeth when you’re human.”

He heard a growl but he ignored it and began to scrub the upper teeth, once he was done he took the brush out and instructed the boy to spit out the suds in the ink and not on him-again.

“This stuff tastes like crap!” Yurio complained, knowing full well that his twice a day torture was not over yet.

“First you complain that MY toothpaste was burning your mouth and now your complaining this toothpaste taste awful?” Yuuri asked, “And its kiddie toothpaste.”

“No wonder human kids have bad teeth!”

The glare came back and Yurio clammed up.

“time for the sides and front, take notes because I want you to do this yourself,” Yuuri commented as he brushed the sides, “I’m going to be working overtime at the museum and I need you to take care of yourself.”

After the sides were done, he brushed the front teeth and Yurio spat out the suds in the sink, “It’s like the zoo all over again.”

“I know but when you’re a human, you work for your food.”

Yurio puffed his cheek and stomped out of the bathroom.

“And wait until before you drink a soda!”

He heard a can being opened seconds later.

X

Yurio was sitting at the small breakfast table eating his curry when Yuuri walked in the living room and sat down on the futon.

“What this documentary called anyway?” the boy asked as he chewed on the chunk of meat.

“I think it’s called, ‘The Forgotten World of Magic’,” Yuuri answered as he made it to the History channel.

Hearing that made Yurio tense, “Really?”

The man nodded, “Yeah, everyone’s been talking about it for a while so I figured why not.”

And with that he focused on the two-hour long movie.

X

Since ancient times, magic was not the stuff of fairy tales.

It was real.

Life was simple for everyone, poverty was nothing but a myth, illness was cured in an instant, people of different faiths lived in harmony and war was never a word said or done.

Everyone knew how to use magic but if one were to use magic were used for ill intentions, it would be taken away forever. Except for if you were defending yourself and/or your family.

Which proved that using magic was meant to be used responsibly. Used for what you needed and not for personal gain.

Some said that the ability to use magic was a gift from God to help them live their lives easier. Other said that to was the way things were nothing more nothing less.

The world was a paradise, the perfect dream for those in modern time who wanted nothing more than to see meaningless wars end, destroy poverty, end world hunger and stop global warming forever.

For such an ideal world, why did it all disappear?

The answers: population and the industrial revolution.

Back then the world’s population was small but as the numbers grew so did the greed of man. Which slowly stemmed from the crusades of the holy land to the many wars Europe would face.

With magic came great responsibility but once used for one’s personal greed, you lose it all forever. And to make sure that this gift was to never be used again by the person who missed it, that’s persons descendent would be stripped of the privilege.

This continues until the puritans who managed to keep their magic flee Europe for the new world. To protect their magical bloodline, they vowed to never use their magic again until they truly needed it.

But once they settled in they succumbed to their greed and fear during the Salem Witch trial when innocent men and women were murdered as a result young puritan girls who were caught using magic and they did not want to get in trouble. That and the ongoing speculation that many were targeted for the land they owned.

As punishment, the town of Salem lost their magic for good.

By then, only half of the world population still used magic until the rumors of gold amongst the Native Americans surfaced and many innocents lost their lives. Not only for that but for their land.

The documentary concluded with the saying that man was tempted by greed and power.

Greed and power won.

X

“That’s it?” Yurio was happy with the ending and he looked at Yuuri with an annoyed look.

The man was looking on his phone about the series.

“I see, it’s a three-part series,” He explained, “This one is about the very beginning of what had happened before the industrial revolution.”

The iguana looked over his shoulder and saw that the next episode was due in a week.

“So, you humans are finally acknowledging it?”

“It’s always been talked about but people love their tech more Yurio.”

“Lazy bums….”

“No desert for you tonight.”

“I was joking!”

Yurio spent the rest of the day trying to get his desert back.

X

“Come one, I know you can understand me young lady!” Yuuri cried out as he once again tried to get the female iguana to put on the white lab coat he had.

He was back in the padded white room with the two stubborn iguanas. And once again, he was trying to get the naked girl in front of him to wear the coat.

The female was sitting on the floor with a tilted head but it was plain obvious that she found his flustered demeanor entertaining. As did the male who was sitting against the wall with hi arms crossed.

‘at least they’re comfortable being in their human forms,’ Yuuri thought to himself, ‘But come on!’

Once again, he waved the coat at the girl.

“If you had a name I would say it.”

*giggle*

“At least you’re laughing at my attempts to dress you.”

The female giggled again before crawling to sit next to her male companion, she rested her head on the scaled shoulder while he rubbed her head gently.

“at least just drape this over you, it not right for a girl to be naked in front of strangers.”

The male sighed and reached for the coat to drape it over his companion.

“Thank you,” Yuuri exclaimed as he sank to his knees, keeping a good distance away in case they still felt uncomfortable around him, “And I thought Yurio was stubborn with clothes.”

The male titled his head in curiosity as did the female.

“He’s an iguana like you and I really mean like you, he was against wearing clothes but now he demands clothes with animal print.”

A smirk appeared on the male’s face.

“Okay, I’m sorry but I really need to give you two names,” Yuuri said as he cleaned his glasses, “I don’t know who I am talking too and it’s not right that you have the names, ‘subject A’ and ‘Subject B’ on your crates.”

They both shrugged as if they said, what can you do about it.

“Well I’m going to name you until you tell me your real names.”

He pointed at the female, “You look like a Katrina so I’ll call you that.”

And then Yuuri pointed at the male, “And you are going to be called…. Otabek!”

“…. Seriously?”

“You want us to respond to that?”

X

Phichit chuckled when Yuuri walked out of the room with the lab coat over his head after the newly named Katrina threw it at him.

“At least you got them to talk,” he said looking at the bright side.

“Yea… I did, they are like Yurio.”

Otabek and Katrina were see going back to their iguana forms and falling asleep in their crate. They finally spoke but they knew that the ‘maybe nice’ man will come back with more yummy food and the coat. Most likely he will ask them questions about their past lives before coming here but right now they wanted to sleep.

But something was weighing on their minds.

The white coat smelled so familiar.

Like mangos and papayas.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading! See you soon!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! guys!! How ya been? I hope it's better than me.  
> Life is starting to suck for me professional wise. I'm working at a fast food place and many customers are attacking me for no reason because they can and I can't fight back without risk getting fired. but this job is helping me with my dream of being a voice actor one day. so I do my best to endure it :)  
> But personal life is getting harder and harder.  
> My mom made a big decision recently to have major surgery to have her uterus removed which is devastating because she wanted to have more children with my stepfather but her uterus just can't handle it. I worry for her all the time because she raised me all by herself until I was 15 and I myself am deeply sad that I'm the only child she'll ever have.  
> Sorry to say this to you guys but I feel like I owe you an explanation for my absence.  
> Please enjoy :)

“Hello you two, I have lunch ready!” Yuuri called out as he placed the two bowls of Katsudon on the floor of the of white padded room.

Otabek stared at him with a suspicious glare, the black iguana was in his human form and he wore the large sweater the scientist brought the day before.

It had been three days since he was officially named but Otabek still kept his guard up around the smiling man with glasses. He knew that humans were deceitful beings capable of easily manipulating others for their own selfish desires. While Katrina, his companion, seemed a bit more open towards the human, Otabek was ready to fight once Yuuri betrayed them.

“Where’s Katrina?”

“…”

“Come on Otabek, I’m not a mind reader,” Yuuri said softly which for some reason made the reptile feel safe, “Where is Katrina?”

“…. Hiding in the small tree,” Otabek muttered as he motioned his head towards the habitat Yuuri brought from home in the corner, “She’s shedding and she gets embarrassed when strangers are around…”

“Oh,” Yuuri muttered in surprise, “I see. Well don’t worry, I’ll leave in a moment.”

“Hm…”

“You still don’t trust me huh?” the human said with a small smile, “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t trust humans either if I endured what you did.”

Otabek tucked his knees under his chin as his arms wrapped around his leg. The long tan legs that were marred with patches of pink spots. The places where his scales used to be before he was skinned. The humans of this place were nice and the lizard outside kept reassuring him and his friend that they were safe but he knew it was for the best to keep his distance.

“Well I’ll be going now.”

Just as Yuuri got up to leaves, Otabek spoke.

“Are you coming back?”

Yuuri smiled and nodded, “as long as you two want me.”

And with that, he left the room and the iguana behind. Otabek uncurled from his position and picked up a bowl of the dish. He sniffed it and poked the egg drenched chicken until his nail was coated with substance. With heavy curiosity, he put his finger in his mouth to taste. The egg reminded him of the eggs he used to eat during his travels in the rainforest. The meat was different from last time, he did not know what the human did to it but he took a curious bite.

“…. Its safe, you can eat it,” Otabek called out to the habitat, “He’s gone, I promise.”

Slowly the black iguana crawled out of the habitat and transformed into her human form. Her mily white skin was flaking from the dead skin and the bits of skin that were still attached to her made complexion look ashy.

She crawled next to the older male and took the other bowl, she ate the fried pork slowly while Otabek wrapped a comforting arm around her and rubbed her shoulder gently.

X

“Well at least one of them is comfortable around you,” Phichit said with his head turned once Katrina made herself seen.

“True but they still don’t trust me,” Yuuri added with his head also turned, “How long are they going to be in there?”

While the padded room was large enough for two, with accommodations for iguanas such as a heating lamp, a small pool of water that was cleaned daily, habitats for both and all the privacy they wanted.

But in Yuuri’s eyes, it was a prison.

No windows to let in natural light or to open to let in fresh air, they were not allowed to even go outside to stretch their legs and that was cause for concern for the herpetologist.

“I know how you feel but we can’t risk them getting exposed.”

“Phichit….”

The man sighed softly, “Listen, they barley trust the other reptiles here as much as they don’t trust the humans. Say that we do let them go outside for a while, they will run and risk the lives of everyone here. There’s still people who want nothing to di with the old life.”

Old life. Just another word for the age of magic that was dying out. Recently people have wanted to bring it back but it was a fools hope because of the rule of greed. And then there was a group of people who wanted it all to go away forever.

“And what will happen if they are caught? They were lucky we found them, those people were going to kill them.”

Yuuri had to stop himself from frowning, Phichit was right about the danger the two children would bring if they did go outside.

“what if?” Yuuri added, “What if we send them to your king?”

Phichit raised a brow but shook his head, “with all due respect to him, he just doesn’t understand what do to with sick reptiles. It’s a dog eat dog world; most likely he’ll leave them alone to die.”

“oh…”

The two males said nothing else and Yuuri made plans to go home.

X

“I know Phichit wants to keep them safe but keeping them in that room is near suffocating,” Yuuri said while making it to the drive way of his home, “I’ll talk to Yurio about it.”

He put the car in park, took the keys and tonight’s dinner out from the passenger’s seat, Yuuri walked to the front door and let himself in.

“Yurio? I’m ho-”

Yuuri’s word were caught in his throat when he saw the scene, it made him drop the chinses take out.

The entire living room was a mess, books and magazines were scattered all the floor, a broken mirror was found against the wall as if someone had thrown it and Yurio’s habitat was in shambles. Yuuri scanned the entire room and found the boy in the corner crying.

“Yurio?! What happened?!”

The boy looked up and almost looked as if he had shrunk against the corner, he wore a large black hooded sweater and his hands were hidden in the long sleeves. Yuuri walked up to him and pulled the hood back.

“Yurio?”

Yurio looked up and that was when Yuuri saw it. Or rather he saw nothing.

The patched of yellow scales were gone from the boy’s face and when he pulled the sleeves back, he shocked at what he saw.

What once were hands with scale and claw like nails were gone. Now, they were simple human hands.

“Help me!” Yurio cried out, “I can’t turn back!”

Yuuri said nothing but instead, he told Yurio to stay inside as he ran out to the forest. There was only one person who could probably help his boy. It was a risk of being forced to mate or worse but he was willing to take it.

He stopped in the middle of the forest and called out, “Victor!”

There was an echo of the call.

“Please come out! Yurio needs your help! I need your help! Please!”

All he could hear were the sounds of woodland animals as they went about their day and the sounds of leaves and tree rustling from the wind. Yuuri sank down to his knees in defeat and watch as his tears fell on his legs. He took off his glasses and cried when he could not find the silver snake. He felt that he had failed his boy for some reason.

‘He must have felt this happening for a while and I didn’t notice. I’m so pathetic!’

In his sadness, he did not notice the silver tail gently coiling around him until he felt a soft scale hand on his face.

“Who made my lovely mate shed tears?

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it! I'm planning on making this into an actual story after this chapter for once that follows a plot instead of random chapters. 
> 
> Theres this artist I follow and I hope she opens commission soon because I really want to see the characters come to life in drawings :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Sorry I have not been active T^T  
> Recently, I got a job and I have been tired a lot but I still tried my best to keep up with my stories. And I have been a bit sad recently.  
> Apparently, I, according to my now former friend, have no right to say 'Happy Pride Month' because I'm straight. That hurt because I was the only one who accepted her for being gay and was her shoulder to lean on when things got tough. so I ended up losing a friend since childhood.
> 
> Enough about that, I hope you enjoy this new update!

Yuuri’s blood ran cold as he stared into the ice blue eyes of the silver snake he had been looking for. He stepped away from the hand that cradled his face and leaned back against the coil he was wrapped in.

“It’s… Yurio….” He said with a slight tremor in his voice, “He… can’t turn back.”

Victor said nothing and crossed his arms, “It is happening already?”

“What is?”

“His body is remodeling itself to become human. If we leave our tribe to live amongst the humans, our bodies change against our will. No one knows why it happens but by the time we realize it, we have become human.”

Yuuri looked down in disbelief, “Is there anyway to reverse it?”

He could feel the Nagas smirk in his voice when he spoke, “There is but why should I tell you?”

The man looked up and saw that Victor on top of his tail, resting on his stomach and still smirking.

“For all I know, you could be working for the humans who are still hunting us down. Or maybe…” The man leaned closer and hooked his clawed finger under Yuuri’s chin to make him look at him, “Maybe you still the ever-curious scientist who caught my attention all those years ago.”

At first, Yuuri was lost in Victors eyes but he regained his senses and pushes the scaled hand away before glaring at the man, “Please, tell me what I have to do to help Yurio!”

There was a spark in Yuuri’s caramel brown eyes with no trace of the small fear he had for the silver snake. It surprised Victor to see such a spark and it compelled him to listen to him.

“Well~ you can give yourself to me as payment. Considering that we never got to consummate our union.”

“I never agreed to be your mate.”

Victor pouted at the rejection but went back to his smirk, “How about it? You give yourself to me and I will tell you how to stop the re-modification.”

On the outside Yuuri had a determined glare and showed no resistance to the snake but on the inside, he was scared. He knew that he where to agree to such terms, he will most likely lose his life. Yuuri wanted to reject the offer but he remembered his iguana, crying in the corner.

He took in a deep breath and exhaled before speaking with clenched fists, “Am I allowed to say my own terms if I agree?”

“Of course,” Victor answered, “Anything you want as long as you give yourself to me.”

“Alright,” Yuuri fixed his glasses,” First off, I want to still live in my house. I will not go to you every time you feel like getting your rocks off! I will come whenever I feel like it! And if I am out in the forest, it’s because I just want to study the reptiles here.”

“Anything else?”

“I just want Yurio to live out his life in peace, he’s lost much already.”

Victor nodded and made his coil push Yuuri to his chest, “Do we have a deal?”

Yuuri’s demeanor changed to that of a blushing man whose heart began to beat at a fast pace, he nodded, “Yes. I will do it but only for Yurio.”

The silver snake chuckled he wrapped one arm around Yuuri and used his free hand to signal for something.

“Mila, bring what my mate needs at once,” He ordered.

No sooner did he say that did the young woman appear from the bushes and give her king a flower. It was a flower Yuuri had never seen before. The petals were like delicate tears of royal blue fabric and the scent was of roses bit with a hint of lavender.

“Sylleblossom,” Victor said as of answering an unasked question, “A scared flower that is only available within our tribe. It is our priceless treasure.”

“What’s the point of it?”

The silver snake offered it to Yuuri, “Have you read about the golden apples?”

Yuuri nodded, “In Norse mythology, it’s the source of immortality.”

“Precisely, these flowers are kind of like that but it’s not the source of immortality. It is the source of our identity, we use these to preserve our appearances. How long have you had Yurachka?”

“Nearly fifteen years but only recently he started walking around in his human form.”

Victor raised an eyebrow in curiosity, “And he stayed in his form for ever since you got him?”

“He only ever transformed four times when we lived in the city.”

“Interesting, I would ask for more but you need to give him this as soon as possible,” Victor declared, “Put this in hot water to make a tea for him. Once he drinks it, it will put him in a deep sleep that will only last a day and once he wakes up, his original form will be restored and he regain his ability to transform in between species. And as a bonus to my generous offer, I will give you the seeds of the sylleblossoms for you to grow for him.”

Yuuri took the flower in his hands and marveled at how soft the petals were, “Th-Thank you!”

Victor uncoiled his tail and allowed the human man to run back to his house, the snake gave an innocent wave at the retreating figure.

“You do know it is forbidden to reveal our secrets to humans, right?” Mila asked with matter of fact one in her voice.

“You worry too much Mila, you heard him did you not? He only wants to help his little iguana.”

“I know but-”

“Enough,” Victor said in a commanding tone of a king, “We have other business to worry about. Have you any news about the cobra?”

The red snake nodded once, “He is currently being sheltered by those still loyal to him.”

X

Yuuri ran until his lungs were burning and every muscle in his legs were screaming but he continued to run to his house.

‘I hope that snake wasn’t lying about this,’ He thought to himself, ‘no… He may be a bit weird but there’s no way he would turn his back on his reptiles… Right?’

Finally stopping at the back steps of his home, Yuuri walked to see that Yurio, despite his current state, had cleaned up the mess he made.

The books and magazines were back in their proper place on the small dinner table, the broken mirror was swept and thrown away and the habitat was fixed. Yuuri scanned the room and found Yurio curled up in the futon still in tears.

“Yurio?”

The boy said nothing but he turned to look at the man.

“sorry I ran off like that, want something to drink.”

Yurio nodded, “yes please.”

Yuuri gave a small smile and took the kettle to boil water.

“I don’t know what to do, I can’t turn back, my tail is gone and I don’t even feel like myself anymore,” Yurio muttered but Yuuri was not sure if he was muttering to him or himself.

“It’s going to be okay Yurio, I promise.”

The water began to simmer and Yuuri placed the whole flower in the kettle.

“How do you know?”

“I just know, maybe it’s just an off day?”

The boy sighed and let the human have that little fantasy.

The kettle gave a whistle to signify that the tea was ready, Yuuri took out a cup and poured the tea in. the liquid was a deep blue and it gave off a calming scent.

“Yurio, I have your drink,” The man said as he walked to the lump in the futon, “Sit up and drink.”

“alright…”

Yurio sat up and took the cup that was offered to him, “A new tea?”

“Um... Yes, I was at the store and saw it. It’s supposed to promote good health.”

“Hm.”

Yurio blew at the liquid to cool it down and took a small sip.

It tasted… very nostalgic.

Like something he used to eat back at the rainforest.

Yurio found himself drinking the cup, ignoring the fact that his tongue was burning from the hot liquid. He put the cup down and took in deep breathes, he now knew what the flavor.

“Katsudon… Where did you really get this tea?”

Yuuri gave him a soft smile but his eyes showed a hint of sadness, “I’m sorry Yurio. I had to do it, it was the only way to help you.”

“What?”

Before he could say anything, Yurio’s vision began to grow fuzzy and his body became heavy as lead. He collapsed on the futon and closed his eyes.

Slowly, Yurio turned back into his iguana form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you notice the FFXV reference I made in this chapter ^^  
> Those who do will get a hug!


End file.
